US whistleblower Edward Snowden has defended Russian citizenship from criticism. “I’m in Russia because the White House deliberately revoked my passport to keep me here,” Snowden tweeted Friday. “They shot down the diplomatic plane of the president of Bolivia to prevent me from leaving the country and to this day hinder my freedom of movement.”
Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin granted him Russian citizenship in September. Snowden also received a Russian passport this week, his lawyer Anatoly Kutscherena said.
Unprecedented wiretapping scandal made public
Snowden is wanted by the US for providing journalists with documents about espionage activities by the US surveillance agency NSA and its British counterpart GCHQ in 2013. The 39-year-old had repeatedly made it clear that he should seek asylum in Russia because he could face extradition in other countries. the United States was threatened.
US State Department spokesman Ned Price said Friday that Snowden has long since pledged his allegiance to Russia. Citizenship would confirm that status, Price said.
Snowden has repeatedly stated that he will not cooperate with Russian authorities. The decision to apply for citizenship was made earlier after the birth of his son in Russia to have the same rights as him. The child born in 2020 automatically received Russian citizenship.
Snowden actually wanted to go into hiding in Ecuador
Snowden said he wanted to continue his journey to Ecuador via Hong Kong, but was stranded at the airport in Moscow after the US government revoked his passport. Russia granted asylum to Snowden and his wife Lindsay. According to Moscow lawyer Kutscherena, Snowden’s wife also wants to apply for Russian citizenship. But they didn’t want to give up their American citizenship, they both said once.
Former US intelligence officer Edward Snowden has been issued a Russian passport and has pledged allegiance to Russia. Snowden, 39, fled to Russian exile after publicizing the massive storage and analysis of telephone and internet data by the US intelligence agency NSA in 2013. Russian President Vladimir Putin granted Snowden Russian citizenship in September.
“Yes, he got a passport, he took the oath,” Anatoly Kucherena, the whistleblower’s lawyer and a native American citizen, told the state news agency TASS. “I’m in Russia because the White House deliberately revoked my passport to lure me here,” Snowden wrote on Twitter on Friday.
The US is demanding Snowden’s extradition on espionage charges. “This is still a criminal investigation,” White House spokesman John Kirby told reporters Friday.
Source: Krone
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